A common complaint heard around the water cooler is, "I never have any time for myself." At the same time, whenever an opportunity does present itself for self-reflection, many people fill up that time with "busyness."

You can try an experiment with yourself. On one day (or just for a section of a day) log what you do with your time when you aren't required to do something else. For example, if you are attending a meeting, you don't have to log that time. If you are preparing a report or finishing a customer document, you don't need to log that time.

Log or track the time when you aren't required to do something directly relevant to your job. Determine how much time this represents in your day—and then write down what you did with this time. For example, when you eat lunch, what did you do while eating lunch? What did you do right after lunch? When you first come in the office, what do you do with your time? When you are between tasks, what do you do with your time?

While at work, you justify your busyness behavior by saying you need a break and that is why you had a half hour chat with one of your colleagues, why you decided to surf the web, or why you decided to play a game of solitaire on your computer. 

At home, one can more readily see the pattern of filling up free time with busyness. We come home in the evening, wanting time for ourselves, and then we fill it up with television, cleaning, talking on the telephone, etc. At the end of the day, we feel that we have had no time for ourselves.

In order to better utilize these non-demanding moments in our day so you feel as if you are getting the most out of our days, you need to first ask yourself what would you do if you were "taking time for yourself." What would that look like? You might find that you are actually doing some of these things already. Or, you find that you truly do need more complete down time when you just sit and relax—without the television on in the background. At work, perhaps you need to take a walk to think about what is happening around you.

Actually, all the time you have is time for yourself. The challenge is to recognize that this is how you are actually spending it. The question is whether you can spend it better!
 

Janelle Barlow, President
TMI US
 
 
 

Please submit your questions to Time Manager Questions and Answers. If you have questions, undoubtedly someone else has the same question. By asking a question, you'll help a fellow Time Manager user become more effective.
 
 

Previous "Time Manager Q & A Corner" pages: 
 
 

#1	Key Areas and Interruptions
#2	Daily Plans and Home Offices
#3	Result Statements
#4	Reading and Responding to E-Mail
#5	Sending E-Mail
#6	Filing According to Key Areas
#7	Setting up Files for the Whole Office
#8	Controlling Loose Pieces of Paper
#9	The Value of Time
#10	More on Results Statements
#11	Managing Time on the Road
#12	How to Get Time with Someone
#13	The Downside of Goals
#14	Thinking Types and Time
#15	Feeling Types and Time
#16	Intuitive Types and Time
#17	Sensate Types and Time
#18	What's Real about Strategic Planning?
#19	What Does Being Strategic Really Mean?
#20	How Perception of Time Influences Goal Choices
#21	The Four Immutable Laws of Controlling Your Desk
#22	Decision Making and Cultural Groups
#23	Paperless Office: Fact or Fiction?
#24	Exit Planning
#25	Speed: Does It Free Up More Time?
#26	Time in the 21st Century
#27	Open Office Plans
#28	The Costs of E-Mail
#29	How Do Senior Level People Manage Their Time?
#30	On Saving Time
#31	Paying the Ultimate Price with Time By Not Getting Enough Sleep
#32	Telecommuting and Productivity
#33	How Much Is Your Time Worth?
#34	Goal Setting and Change
#35	Making Career Decisions
#36	Controlling the Volume of Paper
#37	The Soul Catcher and Time Management
#38	Goals and Team Work
#39	Negotiate Better Goals for Yourself!
#40	Efficiency: A Plague or a Blessing?
#41	Computers and Time
#42	Culture and Time
#43	Performance: Getting What You Reinforce
#44	Punctuating Your Time With Small Breaks
#45	If You've Lost Some Good Habits...
#46	More Proof That Daily Planning Is a Good Idea

Please submit your questions to Time Manager Questions and Answers by fax or e-mail . If you have questions, undoubtedly someone else has the same question. By asking a question, you'll help a fellow Time Manager user become more effective.

Link to Time Manager 

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